by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard
February 20, 2026
A framework for assuring the state eventually pays a much greater share of public defense costs in Washington is idling in the Legislature as supporters look for ways to ensure it doesn’t collapse.
House Bill 1592, which enjoys bipartisan support, is the latest legislative effort to address an ongoing crisis in how Washington assures poor defendants accused of crimes are represented by lawyers in court.
It doesn’t increase funding for counties and cities, but outlines how they would be able to access money from a new state account for public defense. That account is proposed in legislation Democrats are pursuing to impose a tax on millionaire earners, and it would be filled with some of the proceeds from the tax.
The legislation also would begin collection of data on caseloads and trials to help ensure funding makes it to places where it is most needed. It lays out a path for counties with fewer than 200,000 residents to ask the state Office of Public Defense to assume responsibility for some or all of its public defense services. And it encourages cities and counties to form “public defense districts” to pool resources.
The House Appropriations Committee passed the bill unanimously. But it was not voted out of the House by a Tuesday deadline, leaving its future, and that of its many provisions, in doubt.
Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, the bill’s sponsor, said it was “dead,” but its components could resurface in part or in whole in other legislative vehicles.
He said he is working to get language in the budget concerning public defense districts and that would “help the small and medium counties in the near term.”
These would not boost funding but begin to take steps “to make sure we have the system structured correctly” when money for public defense from the income tax begins to flow into the account in 2029.
The proposed income tax is projected to bring in $3.4 billion a year. The current version of the tax bill would direct 7% of those annual collections into the public defense account. Senate Bill 6346 passed the Senate on Tuesday and was sent to the House for consideration.
While Democratic lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson are still hashing out how best to spend the income tax revenue, no one has suggested altering the commitment to public defense.
“I think the crisis of public defense is very evident with members of this chamber,” Peterson said. “I think everybody gets the problem.”
Paul Jewell, government relations director for the Washington State Association of Counties, said the group was “disappointed” Peterson’s bill did not move.
“We’re hoping those other pieces show up elsewhere,” he said. “We want to get the right resources in the right places for the future.”
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